Louisiana Story

With special guest Michael Doucet, leader of BeauSoleil

The 1949 Pulitzer prize winning film score written by Virgil Thompson provides the inspiration for GRAMMY® award winning artists Michael Doucet and the Turtle Island Quartet to delve deeply into the myriad faces of Cajun music and beyond. Michael Doucet, leader of the famed ensemble BeauSoleil, is one of 12 recipients of the 2005 National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. He has an encyclopedic mastery of this quintessential American music genre and reveals an astonishing range of stylistic influences from all over the globe.

Michael Doucet is an ideal partner for the Turtle Island Quartet, the world’s preeminent cross-genre string quartet. Afro Cuban rhythm, the modern jazz harmonic language, traditional and classical styles from France, and even South Indian tabla grooves all find their place at the table, a sumptuous meal with spice, sweetness and unbridled joy.

Mr. Doucet’s connection with Turtle Island Quartet dates to 1988, when he invited the newly formed quartet to perform at the “Festival International De Louisiane.” This American Francophone festival is still held annually in Mr. Doucet’s hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, where recently they were reunited in a post-concert jam, directly leading to the evolution of this program—a petite fête, not to be missed!